The process of glass-blowing has been used for centuries to produce not only utilitarian items but also artistic ones. To create a blown glass item, a glassblower first gathers, typically from a large melting pot, a gob of molten glass on the end of a blowpipe. This gob of molten glass is to be the workpiece that will eventually become the finished item. Depending of course upon the item desired, the composition of the glass, and other factors, it is necessary that the workpiece be held in proximity to a flame, furnace, or forge in order to keep the glass in a molten state while the workpiece is being worked.
The glassblower then blows through the blowpipe to form an ever-larger “bubble” inside the molten glass while contemporaneously rotating the workpiece to ensure even heating, and also to ensure that the workpiece does not fall “out of round.” With the appropriate tools and techniques, the glassblower can shape, trim, or cut the workpiece into the desired form. To achieve the desired effect, the glassblower may reheat the workpiece a number of times with a torch before transferring it to the annealing kiln.
Once the glass item has been blown and shaped into the desired form, the glassblower can add color and texture to the glass by fuming or wrapping colored rods and/or precious metals onto the item. Typically, the item is attached to a glass mandrel (a tube) so that the entire item is available to be worked by the glassblower. The mandrel must be rotated, just as the blowpipe, and in proximity to a flame while the fuming process is performed. Once the fuming has been accomplished, the finishing touches are applied.
Various attempts have been made to address the problem of holding and rotating the glass workpiece. In the U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,531 to Kolleck, there is disclosed a tubular device for holding a glass workpiece or mandrel; however, because Kolleck's holder holds the glass workpiece firmly so that the workpiece does not rotate within the holder, Kolleck's holder must in turn be held in the jaws of a lathe chuck, which will rotate the holder along with the workpiece. Although Kolleck's holder can accommodate different configurations of glass workpieces or mandrels, it is necessary that the glass mandrels themselves be specifically configured and styled to fit the holder tips. On the other hand, the present invention will accept any diameter tube when attached to a mandrel so that the invention can be used with “off-the-shelf” glass tubes as well as specifically-designed ones.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,944 to Domka, there is disclosed a motorized lathe which holds and rotates a glass mandrel. Being motorized, the lathe is dependent upon access to an appropriate power supply. Furthermore, because of the necessary gears, housings, rollers, and other elements, the Domka lathe is heavy and cumbersome and cannot offer the flexibility of a hand-held device.